Short Pasta / Pasta Corta

There are literally hundreds of different short pasta shapes, and new ones are constantly coming onto the market. Some people prefer short pasta simply because it is easier to cook and eat than long pasta. It also goes well with many different sauces and is perfect for salads with large pieces of meat, fish or vegetables. In most cases you can choose any shape you fancy, regardless of whether your sauce is chunky or a smooth tomato, cream, or olive oil based. Exceptions are regional dishes that are traditionally cooked with a specific shape, such as Penne all'Arrabbiata from Lazio.

Short pasta is divided into two main groups. Pasta secca is factory made, using durum wheat flour and water. This is by far the largest group, and you will find that most packets of dried pasta list only these two ingredients on the label. Pasta all'uovo is made with the addition of eggs. It is naturally a brighter yellow than pasta secca and has more nutritional value. Popular in the north of Italy, especially in Emilia-Romagna, pasta all'uovo has different properties from plain pasta and goes especially well with the rich creamy and meaty sauces associated with that part of Italy. It cooks slightly more quickly than plain durum wheat pasta and is less likely to become overcooked and soggy. Although it is more expensive than plain pasta, egg pasta is becoming more popular and therefore more widely available. New flavours and colours of short pasta shapes are on the increase, too. For many years tomato (pomodoro) and spinach (verde) were all that was available, but today there seems to be no end to the number of different colour and flavour combinations, ranging from garlic, chillies and herbs to beetroot, salmon, mushroom, squid ink and even chocolate. Often three colours (red, white and green) are packed together and labeled tricolore. Whole wheat pasta, called pasta integrale, is made from durum wheat and other cereals. It is higher in fiber than plain durum wheat pasta and takes longer to cook.